New Xbox chief Asha Sharma has openly acknowledged what subscribers have been saying for months: Game Pass costs too much. In an internal memo to Xbox staff, Sharma confirmed that Microsoft is actively looking at reworking its subscription model, describing the current pricing as unsustainable and promising a “more flexible system” down the line.
What The Leaked Memo Actually Says
The memo, obtained by The Verge, lays out Sharma’s position on Game Pass in surprisingly direct terms. “Game Pass is central to gaming value on Xbox. It’s also clear that the current model isn’t the final one,” she wrote. “Short term, Game Pass has become too expensive for players, so we need a better value equation. Long term, we will evolve Game Pass into a more flexible system which will take time to test and learn around.”
Sharma also acknowledged the “online chatter” surrounding rumours of Game Pass pricing changes, telling employees she would “go deeper” on the topic in the coming week. No specific pricing adjustments or structural changes were outlined in the memo itself, but the tone suggests Microsoft is past the denial stage and actively working on solutions.
How Game Pass Got This Expensive
Game Pass has come a long way from its 2017 launch, when US$9.99 per month got you access to the full library. Today, the service is split across Ultimate, Premium, and Essential tiers, each with different content access, and the pricing reflects that fragmentation. Game Pass Ultimate currently sits at US$29.99 per month following a 50 percent price hike last year, while PC Game Pass jumped from US$11.99 to US$16.49.
A significant factor behind the cost increase was Microsoft’s decision to fold Call of Duty into the subscription. The Verge’s Tom Warren reported nearly two years ago that Microsoft had internally debated whether adding new Call of Duty releases to Game Pass would cannibalise the franchise’s retail revenue. Microsoft went ahead with it in mid-2024, and the subscription price climbed accordingly.
Microsoft attempted to soften the blow of the latest increase by bundling additional perks like Fortnite Crew and Ubisoft Classics into higher tiers. But the value proposition has clearly not landed with everyone, and Microsoft does not publicly share subscriber numbers to gauge the real impact.
Call Of Duty Could Be On The Chopping Block
One of the more notable rumours circling right now is that Microsoft might pull Call of Duty from Game Pass entirely. Windows Central’s Jez Corden raised the possibility on the XB2+1 podcast over the weekend, saying it would “reveal some of the cracks in the strategy” if it happened this year.
Beyond the Call of Duty question, there have been whispers about new Game Pass tiers, including one that would focus exclusively on first-party titles. A straightforward price reduction has not been widely speculated on, though it remains the most obvious lever Microsoft could pull.
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The Broader Industry Problem With Pricing
Sharma’s admission does not exist in a vacuum. The wider games industry is grappling with the same tension between rising costs and consumer tolerance. Sony has been experimenting with personalised dynamic pricing to tempt PS5 owners with tailored discounts. Nintendo recently announced it would sell digital versions of first-party titles at a lower price than their physical counterparts, starting with Yoshi and the Mysterious Book. Epic Games also drew criticism for increasing the cost of V-Bucks in Fortnite.
The subscription model itself has also faced growing scepticism from developers. The director of Revenge of the Savage Planet noted that the game performed well on Game Pass but failed to generate meaningful revenue, arguing that giving content away for free trains players not to pay for it. Former Bethesda VP Pete Hines similarly acknowledged that most Game Pass adoption comes at the expense of retail sales.
What Comes Next For Game Pass
Sharma’s memo does not commit to a timeline or a specific plan, but the language strongly suggests changes are being shaped internally. Immediate price drops in the coming days seem unlikely, though a restructuring of tiers or content access could materialise in the weeks ahead.
The stakes are high for Sharma personally. She faced criticism from parts of the Xbox community over her perceived lack of gaming credentials when she was appointed, and delivering a tangible improvement to Game Pass value would go a long way toward building trust with the player base. Under her leadership, Xbox also appears to be refocusing on console hardware, having quietly shelved the “This is an Xbox” marketing campaign while confirming its next-generation console effort, Project Helix.